The Latest: Victim says alleged shooter asked about visas

February 25, 2017

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on a deadly shooting at a Kansas bar that some witnesses said was racially motivated (all times local):

7 a.m.

A man injured in a neighborhood bar shooting in suburban Kansas City that witnesses say was racially motivated says the alleged shooter asked two of the victims about their visa status before later returning and opening fire, killing one man and wounding another.

Thirty-two-year-old Alok Madasani told The New York Times Friday night (http://nyti.ms/2lC5YZY ) that while at while at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas, Adam Purinton “asked us what visa are we currently on and whether we are staying here illegally.” Both men were educated in the United States and were working here legally.

Mr. Madasani told theTimes: “We didn’t react. People do stupid things all the time. This guy took it to the next level.”

Madasani said he went in to get a manager, and by the time he returned to the patio, the man was being escorted out.

Thirty-two-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla died. Madasani and 24-year-old Ian Grillot, were injured in the shooting. Madasani was released from the hospital while Grillot remains hospitalized.

Purinton was arrested early Thursday at a restaurant bar in Clinton, Missouri. He is jailed on murder and attempted murder charges.

___

1:13 a.m.

A neighborhood bar in suburban Kansas City where one man was killed and two others were injured is scheduled to reopen even as the community tries to recover from an attack that witnesses said was racially motivated.

Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas, will reopen Saturday. It has been closed since the shooting Wednesday evening while patrons watched a Kansas-TCU basketball game.

Witnesses told investigators Adam Purinton yelled at two Indian men to “get out of my country” before opening fire. One man, 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla, died. Two other men, 32-year-old Alok Madasani and 24-year-old Ian Grillot, were injured. Madasani was released from the hospital while Grillot remains hospitalized.

Purinton was arrested early Thursday at a restaurant bar in Clinton, Missouri. He is jailed on murder and attempted murder charges.